Alex Marquardt is out at CNN roughly five months after his reporting cost the company millions as a result of a defamation trial, Fox News Digital has confirmed.

CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt left the network on Monday—months after the network settled a defamation suit stemming from his reporting. CNN settled with defense contractor Zachary Young in January after a Florida jury ruled the network had defamed him in a November 2021 report that alleged he gouged prices for those who sought to flee Afghanistan as the United States withdrew from the country.

In a cryptic message, Alex Marquardt congratulated his coworkers on CNN's national security team, the same team that contributed to the November 2021 article that put him in big trouble